BenRiach tasting evening, Sydney, June 24 2019. Whisky #6 Nose: Barely peated - just a waft like the occasional sniff of a peat cooking fire from a distant cottage on the wind - not acrid or resinous, but aromatic. Tropical fruits, orchard fruits, red berries, light honey, a whiff of dusky vanilla and a little fragrant oak (almost a sandalwood note). It's actually quite like the nose of the BenRiach 25 year old, but lighter and with a breezy curtain of peat smoke. Palate: A supurb arrival, sweet and fruity but with an almost astringent touch. Think of a plate of fruit salad in natural juices where everything is luscious and sweet except for a tinge of slightly tart pineapple. Smoke is noticed after the fruit and it's a soft, ashy wood-smoke and peat mixture with a quality a little like some black Chinese teas, and it combines with the fruit flavours excellently. A little chocolate, sultana and sweet malt appear along with a touch of mint and anise in the development, and there are some spicy oak tannins. The texture is creamy. As it opens, the smoky notes become more prominent. Finish: Medium. Fruity, ashy smoke with a moderate warm spicy aftertaste. On first nosing this you could be forgiven for thinking that it is an unpeated whisky, the smoke is so reserved. It has that quality you get in old peated expressions where the smoke has almost entirely faded and the rest of the profile is more apparent - in this case juicy, grilled tropical fruits come to the fore. It reminded me somewhat of Laphroaig 27 in this respect. Over time, however, you do start to notice the subtle smoke more and more. On the palate the smoky quality is reserved but very pleasant, and totally devoid of phenolic notes. This taste profile is one you either love or hate. For many enthusiasts an essential facet of the peaty whisky experience is intensity so it probably seems odd to praise its absence. However old peaters have a certain quality to them that can be quite addictive. It's like the intensity of complex jazz as opposed to that of heavy metal. I enjoyed this a great deal. Along with the unpeated 25 year old and the stunning 35 year old, this was one of my favourites from the tasting. "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars)